Abigail’s_Vengeance

Abigail’s Vengeance The witch trials of 1692 were among the darkest experiences of United States history. Forming in the rigid Puritan community of Salem, these infamous trials were a perfect example of vengeance based injustice. In Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible”, it all begins as but a simple accusation against a hand full of girls and only later develops into the great hysteria they are known as today. Ironically, these “truth seeking” hearings were built entirely of falsehoods, most of which originates from the testimonies of Abigail Williams. Abigail’s vengeful feelings spur her into manipulating the girls, lying to the court, and attempting to ruin the relationship of John and Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail’s need for revenge causes her to use manipulation to intimidate the girls into following her plan of deceit. Abigail bullies the other girls into not spoiling her plan for revenge by verbally and physically attacking them. “Let either of you breathe a word,” Abigail threatens, “or the edge of a word about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (835). Abigail knows all the girls abigail, elizabeth, john, girls, witch, trials, mary, causes, witch, proctor, court, salem, plan, name, john’s, attempt, abigail’s, word, witchcraft, williams, way, truth, testimonies, terrible, simple, separate, selfishness, ruin, revenge, relationship, poppet, people, out, need, let, innocent, history, herself, elizabeth’s, cannot, black, begins, yellow, wrong-doings, work, witnesses, win, william’s, wife, whole, warren